WASHINGTON -- NASA has awarded a contract with a maximum value of $273 million to Barrios Technology, Ltd., of Houston for International Space Station mission integration services support.

This is a fixed-price, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract that includes a base period of more than five years and two one-year options. The base period, from Oct. 1, 2010, to Dec. 31, 2015, is valued at $185.5 million. Option 1, from Jan. 1, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2016, is valued at approximately $42.7 million. Option 2, from Jan. 1, 2017, to Dec. 31, 2017, is valued at $45 million.

Barrios Technology will provide support for engineering and technical services required to support the International Space Station Program. This includes products and services for space station mission planning; integration and operations; international partner integration; and Russian language and logistics services.

WASHINGTON -- NASA senior managers met with their counterparts representing other space agencies at the National Harbor, Md., on June 23, to discuss globally-coordinated human and robotic space exploration.

The meeting participants agreed that significant progress has been made since the joint release of The Global Exploration Strategy (GES) in May 2007. They agreed steps should be taken to coordinate a long-term space exploration vision that is sustainable and affordable.

The meeting included representatives from the Italian Space Agency, the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, China National Space Administration, Canadian Space Agency, German Aerospace Center, European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Korea Aerospace Research Institute, NASA, National Space Agency of Ukraine, Russian Federal Space Agency and the U.K. Space Agency.